Jubilee BBQ

What could be more British than planning a BBQ on a slightly rainy bank holiday? BBQs remind me of my childhood. Come rain or shine we would BBQ at every opportunity. I particularly remember the rainy ones. My Grandad getting out the hair dryer to encourage slightly damp coals to burn hotter and my dad holding a golf umbrella over the BBQ whilst I cooked wearing a waterproof particularly stick in my mind.

Fortunately this Saturday the sun broke through the clouds shortly before the fire was lit. I wanted to keep things simple so I made some burgers and chicken and chorizo kebabs. People often think of BBQs are unhealthy but with a little thought they can be healthy and clean.






For the kebabs I took cubes of chicken breast, slices of chorizo and a mixture of vegetables. I threaded them onto skewers and marinated in a simple marinade for about 3 hours. For the marinade I chopped a mixture of parsley, basil and mint, added a teaspoon of wholegrain mustard, a tablespoon of red wine vinegar, a crushed garlic clove, seasoning and a good glug of olive oil.

The burgers were made by mixing beef mince with an egg, seasoning, a teaspoon of Dijon mustard, chopped rosemary and a crushed garlic clove. I then formed them into patties. I added a bit too much egg which made the mixture sticky so I dusted each with flour before cooking.

The trick to a good BBQ, for me, is to constantly turn the meat. Far more often than people normally do and also make sure the grill is not too low. This ensures that the meat doesn't burn before it is cooled.

Here are the cooked kebabs and burgers.


Serve with a green salad and a jug of Pimms to wash it all down! Obviously the Pimms isn't healthy so keep this as a treat!